Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Opportunistic Infections among Anti-Retro Viral Treatment Naive HIV/AIDS Infected Patients

Background: Opportunistic infections (OIs) continue to cause substantial morbidity on patients with HIV infection and contribute to mortality. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and risk factors of OIs among Anti-Retro viral treatment (ART) naive HIV/AIDS patients. Methods: Institutional based cross-sectional study was designed to assess the prevalence and risk factors of OIs among ART naive HIV/AIDS patients. This study was conducted among 418 study participant. Data was collected by reviewing the cards’ of the patients for OIs at a baseline and by interviewing the participants for socio-demographic variables. The data was entered into Epi data version 3.1 and transferred to SPSS version 20 software package for analysis. Result: Out of 418 study participants 219 (52.4%) of them had OIs. The most common OIs were Tuberculosis (TB) (13.2%), followed by Recurrent Upper Respiratory tract infection (URTI) (8%) and Herpes Zoster (7.2%). Risk factors identified were advanced World Health Organization (WHO) stage (stage III and IV) (Adjusted odds Ratio (AOR)=3.84 95% CI=1.9, 7.73), <200 CD4 count at a baseline (AOR=2.2 95% CI=1.22, 4.06) and a primary and secondary school attended study participant (AOR=2.04 95% CI 1.10, 3.78) (AOR=2.53 95% CI 1.27, 5.03), respectively. Besides this, mean difference of CD4 count at a baseline showed that there was a significant difference between advanced WHO stages and stage I and II (t=3.158 p=0.002) and also it was significant between gender(t=-2.9 p=0.004). Conclusion: The prevalence of OIs were 52.4% which seems low relative to previous studies conducted among the ART naive HIV/AIDS infected population; the commonest OI was TB, followed by a recurrent URTI and Herpes Zoster. Need a continuous awareness for healthcare providers in order to improve decisions regarding prophylaxis, early screening and appropriate diagnosis and management of OIs among HIV/AIDS infected patients.